What is a Phase 1 Environmental Site Assessment?

A Phase 1 Environmental Site Assessment should be an integral step in acquiring commercial and/or industrial property. So what is a Phase 1 Environmental Site Assessment, sometimes referred to as a “Phase 1 or a Phase 1 ESA”?

A Phase 1 ESA is a report that summarizes a site visit and records review of a property and its surrounding area to determine if any additional environmental investigation is warranted to understand the liability risks associated with the identified property.

Below is a quick summary of key activities generally associated with a Phase 1 report:

PURPOSE

The purpose of a Phase 1 Environmental Site Assessment is to use a consistent systematic approach to identify any existing or potential environmental conditions that may be present or affect a real estate property.

The process of completing a Phase 1 ESA has four components:

Records Review

Chain of title review. What has the property been used for in the past? Are there any uses that raise a red flag based on past usage?

Determine surrounding land use. This can be a very important part of the assessment as the risk of contamination can increase significantly if the surrounding area or properties have documented or potential contamination.

Historical aerial photograph review. A report will almost always include historical aerial photographs to review a time-line for development of the property as well as surrounding properties.

Agency contacts and related record searches. Agencies such as fire departments, local health departments, petroleum tank management associations, water departments, etc., generally are contacted in order to gather current and historical pertinent information concerning the property and the neighboring area.

Site Reconnaissance

A visual inspection of the property and improvements plays an important role in a Phase 1 ESA.

The confines of the building(s) are inspected and property boundary measurements observed. The focus of a Phase 1 inspection is environmental and does not include the structure or any of the systems of the building

Photographs are taken of the property.

No physical testing or sampling is conducted during a phase 1 assessment

Interviews

Interviews will be conducted with anyone who may have information that would help with the report. For example, past and present property managers, tenants and owners

If there is concern over surrounding properties, interviews may be conducted with people who have been or are involved with that property.

Agencies contacted above such as fire departments, local health departments, petroleum tank management associations, water departments, etc., generally are contacted in order to gather current and historical pertinent information concerning the property and the neighboring area.

Report

Documentation. Findings, opinions and conclusions must be supported by documentation to facilitate the assessment.

Scope of Services. The report will describe all services preformed in detail to allow for another party to reconstruct the work completed during the investigation.

Opinion. Includes the environmental professional’s opinions of the impact on the property of conditions indentified in the Findings Section.

Additional Investigations. The environmental professional should include an opinion if any additional investigations are necessary to further clarify any findings that may indicate there are environmental concerns.

Data Gaps. Should there be any significant data gaps that affect the ability to evaluate the property these need to be indentified and commented on.

Conclusions. Provides a summary all recognized environmental conditions connected with the property.

About the author

Scope of Service Experience
Mr. Leighton is responsible for corporate account management and new business development of corporate accounts within NAI Global's Corporate Services Group. He also provides leadership to the NAI Global Technology Team which provides supporting system solutions for corporate accounts.
Education
BA, Accounting - Ursinus College, Collegeville, PA
Background & Experience
Thirty-two years of varied experience within the chemicals industry relating to real estate, sales, service support and marketing. Former Corporate Real Estate Manager, Marketing Manager, and Sales Administrative and Customer Service Manager.
Organized and led a best practices group with fellow corporate real estate managers from global chemical firms active in industrial real estate activities. This group exchanged best practices relating to environmental, process improvements, site selection, support systems and procedures. The exchange provided members of the group with validation and new ideas for improving the effectiveness and productivity of their corporate organizations.
Manager, Real Estate and Space Planning - Air Products and Chemicals, Inc.
Accountable for managing all real estate activities (acquisitions, disposals, options, leases, development, zoning, easements, licenses, permits, appraisals, etc.) in support of the company's businesses within the Americas, the property management functions (including lets to third parties and landlord responsibilities) for the company's let properties, the information system for the company's global real estate holdings and space planning activities for all corporate and operating groups in the Allentown, PA area.
Professional Affiliations & Designations
Mr. Leighton is a licensed Real Estate Salesperson in Pennsylvania and is a member of Industrial Asset Management Council (IAMC).
Mr. Leighton is the author of several published articles on Facilities and Real Estate. Additionally, Rick has been a speaker at the annual ARCHIBUS User Conference and partcipated on a panel at the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP) 2006 Annual Conference.
Significant Transactions
Key accounts include Air Products and Chemicals, Inc., Bombardier, Dow Corning, E. I. DuPont, First Group Americas and U.S. Steel.